Jennifer Lawrence is easily the weakest nominee and shouldn't have been nominated at all. She tries, but she falls flat. And "Joy" is one of the worst films of 2015; an abomination. Rooney Mara should have taken her spot; she had more screentime than Blanchett in the same film.

Brie Larson was unbeatable, but I never got the love for her rather shallow performance. She's alright in the first half, but she's downright amateurish and unconvincing in the second half. Jacob Tremblay was far superior and should have been cited in the Best Actor category.

Blanchett is luminous. One could say she makes love to the camera, and the camera makes love to her. It's a very impressive performance with lots of wonderful moments, but at the same time it feels a bit too affected and calculated (which is rather typical of Blanchett). In a weaker year, she'd have been an easy pick, but not this year.

Ronan is so subtle and wonderful in "Brooklyn". It's a surprisingly complex role, and Ronan handles it with such maturity and grace. She's the runner-up in this field.

No one can beat Charlotte Rampling, though. It's a career-best turn, a painfully moving and lived-in performance that will be remembered as one of the most inspired and deserving Oscar nominations of the decade. She's not on par with Emmanuelle Riva's magnificent masterclass in subtlety in "Amour" (which I consider one of the best performances of all-time), but she's damn close. Beautifully nuanced and heartbreaking work from a vastly underrated actress. She gets my vote.

Rooney Mara belonged in this category, not supporting. And I'd like to have found room for Lily Tomlin in Grandma, as well.

Jennifer Lawrence clearly isn't in the same class as the other nominees, but it's not as if she's totally unqualified, either. She did well in a role requiring some range, and she'd be among the better nominees some years.

I like what Ronan does in Brooklyn, but I don't understand choosing her as the best in this group. She does fine work, but, for me, the other three are at absolute win-in-most-years level, and I've got to go with one of them.

And it's really hard to distinguish among them. Rampling has all kinds of wonderful moments -- watching the home movies and uncovering the secret; painfully enduring her husband's toast; dancing what may be her last dance as a wife. Blanchett is not only powerful, she's powerful in new, unexpected ways. "We're not ugly people" could have been delivered in stentorian tones that recalled Jasmine; her drop in tone instead makes it a moment of full-on heartbreak. It is one of the saddest aspects of this year's critics' voting that somehow no one saw fit to choose Blanchett's work as the year's best.

But, for myself, I'll go with the Academy's choice, by a hair, as the incredibly vivid Larson creates a young woman who goes through many phases: siimultaneously the frightened captive and the fiercely devoted mother; the schemer determined to get her son (and, secondarily, herself) free; the daughter restored to a family that sees her as damaged goods, or as still their little girl -- both of which she needs to grapple with; and finally a trauma survivor trying to get back to being what made her most fulfilled: a mother. From first moment to literal last, Larson captures all these shades. It's a great performance, and, even among this stellar group, it gets my vote.

Jennifer Lawrence uttering Spanish was funny to hear, but Joy is such a mess that her getting a fourth nomination for it doesn't make any sense.

Brie Larson desperately wanted to win that Oscar and her predicted victory is a good one considering the history of this category. She has genuinely wonderful moments in Room, but Jacob Tremblay was even more impressive, and I also think she had more distinguished competition, because Saoirse Ronan managed to let the audience know what she was thinking throughout the film with very subtle nuances.

Hadn't Blanchett been nominated for Carol this year, Rampling would have been a clear choice. It's impossible to believe this is her first nomination, but she's the kind of actress that doesn't need Oscar and Oscar doesn't need her, so I voted for the astonishing Cate Blanchett, a great performance in the best film of the year, and maybe of the decade.

Three truly great performances that would win in most years (Blanchett, Rampling & Ronan).

Rooney Mara should also have been included with this line-up and not regulated to supporting (which is why I didn't even take part in that poll). Larson & Lawrence are merely 'It' girl nominees. I really don't get the love for Larson in Room one bit. Maybe it's an Australian thing because the film opened and closed here within a couple of weeks and apart from a friend at work no one I know has even saw the film or expressed any interest in it.

My choice is Blanchett but if I were an Academy member I would have voted for Rampling as Blanchett already has two Oscars (one deserved - Blue Jasmine and one not - The Aviator) and Rampling is basically just as much deserving.

"I have no interest in all of that. I find that all tabloid stupidity" Woody Allen, The Guardian, 2014, in response to his adopted daughter's allegations.

Had Rooney Mara been nominated here instead of Jennifer Lawrence this would have been one of the best line-ups in this category ever. I would have been fine with her or any of the actual nominees other than Lawrence winning.

With four such equally deserving performances it's difficult to pick a favorite, but I have to single out Cate Blanchett whose performances I usually find mechanical, but not here.

A very strong lineup. Among alternates, Rooney Mara of course should have been cited in this category, and I think Cate Blanchett would have merited consideration for Truth, had double-dipping been possible. And though I don't believe she was eligible, Nina Hoss in Phoenix was impressive as well.

Jennifer Lawrence is the weakest, but I view this nomination as more than just a throw-in -- she carries Joy with a lot of appealing charisma, and shows a good bit of range across the dramatic-comedic spectrum.

Saoirse Ronan is quite touching in Brooklyn, and the film gets a lot of mileage out of close-ups of her expressive face, but I don't find her as commanding as the strongest competitors on the ballot.

The remaining three were world-class, and it pains me to choose between them. Charlotte Rampling has always been an actress who can convey so much with her wordless expressions, and 45 Years, especially in its concluding scenes, offered a dynamite opportunity to showcase that gift.

I don't think Cate Blanchett has ever shown such pure star power as in Carol -- that she also remains, as ever, an actress with the ability to burrow deep into her characters makes this performance among the peaks of her career. The "We're not ugly people" scene is one of the best acted moments of the year, and an Oscar for it would have been well deserved.

But, like the Academy, I've honored Blanchett in the past, so I'll opt to endorse Brie Larson's equally powerful work in Room. This is, perhaps, the most nakedly emotional performance on the ballot, and the actress nails some exceedingly tricky scenes (pretending that her son is dead, the tv interview) with intelligence and gravitas.

I may feel differently after seeing 45 years, but of the other four, the choice is a tough one between Saoirse and Brie. While Brie gets the theatrics in her script, Saoirse does amazing things with subtle nuance.

Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin